TransportationCamp is an “unconference” – where sessions are proposed and led by attendees – bringing together thinkers and doers in the fields of transportation and technology for a day of learning, debating, connecting, and creating. Created by OpenPlans in 2011, TransportationCamp has since been held in 20 cities worldwide. This will be the fifth TransportationCamp South in Atlanta, seeking to bring together participants from across the Southeast region.

The event program will run from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday, February 24, 2018, with breakfast/registration from 9:00 to 10:00. A light breakfast, box lunch, snack breaks and t-shirt will be provided for all participants and are included in the registration fee. Please join us for a happy hour immediately following the event.

The venue for TransportationCamp South will be the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, a state-of-the-art, sustainably-designed educational facility located at the heart of the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta.

We invite you to Advance Atlanta’s upcoming event on October 20th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. Join the #AdvanceATL team and special guests:

Tim Lee, Cobb County Commission Chair

Mike Plant, Atlanta Braves President of Development

Jeremy Strife, Vice-President of Development for the Atlanta Braves and GM of The Battery

Tad Leithead, Chairman of the Cumberland CID

Ben Limmer, Assistant GM of MARTA

Space is extremely limited so REGISTER NOW. For a $15 donation to our 501 (c) 4, Advance Atlanta, we welcome you to hear from this amazing lineup of speakers, enjoy local beer/wine and appetizers, and take a “behind-the-scenes” look at the Braves Experience Center with exciting updates on the Braves development as we get closer to the April 2017 opening of SunTrust Park.

This is the first in a series of Transit Talks that Advance Atlanta will be hosting around the region. At each event we’ll be working to bring together subject matter experts and local decision makers to discuss the needs of their particular city/county/district and how we can all work to improve connectivity throughout the region.

When: October 20th from 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Sponsors

Presenting Sponsor

Supporting Sponsors

About the Coalition to Advance Atlanta

The Coalition to Advance Atlanta is a citizen-driven grassroots advocacy coalition dedicated to building support for regional transit and championing existing transit resources. Advance Atlanta brings together businesses, residents, and other community partners to advocate for transportation solutions that will advance the region we are all proud to call home.

We believe that the future of the metro region will be driven in large part by strategic investments in transit. If metro Atlanta is to remain competitive it will need to provide residents with comprehensive transit options capable of efficiently moving residents where they need to go when they need to be there.

To connect with the organization please visit www.advanceatlanta.com if you are inclined to donate to our cause you can do so here.

Civil discourse can be hard these days. It seems like we’ve allowed ourselves to be defined more by our differences than the many interests or motivations we share. Those differences are enough to discourage many from engaging, but for those that do have a genuine interest in participating in the public discourse on issues that impact their lives, the limited opportunities to do so are often structured in a way that can feel intimidating. With no issue is this truer than with transportation. Most of us didn’t go to school for urban planning. We don’t necessarily know the intricacies of different modes of transit or how important transit oriented development is to boosting ridership in a system, but that type of knowledge shouldn’t be a prerequisite to participating in the conversation about our region’s mobility future. What we do know is that it can be hard to get around metro Atlanta and we’d like it to be easier. We know that most of us would like to have real options in how we move in our daily lives. Those are drivers that should be points we can all agree on and should therefore be the place we start.

These are some of the reasons we started Advance Atlanta– to make the discussion about transit and connectivity approachable and open to all who would like to engage. It’s also the reason we are so excited to partner with our friends at Civic Dinners to offer a new kind of transit conversation. Together we are bringing the conversation down to a scale that anyone can feel comfortable engaging in or leading.

The premise is that the people who call the Atlanta region home are our greatest strength. Civic Dinners provides a platform where we can tap into the collective knowledge of our citizenry and allow passionate individuals to bring people together and drive real progress by connecting with others on a personal level. The inherent flexibility of the model allows residents to participate in the dialogue on their own terms. How many people want to go to a transportation “open house” and look at some engineering plans? And if you are braver than most, stand up and share your reaction to the plans that you just looked at (If your hand is raised, that’s okay. We’re kind of nerds too).

This is about giving people the power to shape their own conversation and to engage in real, meaningful dialogue. Our hope is to take those conversations and to amplify them into a region-wide movement.

The format and ask are simple; we are asking you, your friends and your colleagues to host a dinner and invite a group of your peers (really- that’s it). You can make it an event that’s open for other residents to attend or you can define the invite list.

HOW IT WORKS

Guests will be asked three big questions over the course of the meal and each person is encouraged to share their thoughts with the group and publicly through social media using the hashtag #AdvanceATL. The one (and most important) condition of participating is that every guest has equal time and opportunity to share their personal stories, perspectives and ideas.

Pick a date, time and location (Many choose a restaurant, but if you’d like to open your home to guests you are more than welcome to do so.)

After you sign up you will receive a hosting toolkit with suggested questions and helpful hints.

You can share your event with a diverse group of attendees or leave it open for guests to search and attend.

At the dinner each attendee is responsible for their own meal and drinks

And that’s it!!

TO PARTICIPATE

Not sure about Hosting, but still would like to participate? No problem!

Go to civicdinners.com and search for events that are already scheduled. You can filter by location and date to find one that is convenient for you.

Simply RSVP to one that suits you or sign up for updates.

We believe that some of the most meaningful conversations can take place around a dinner table and that channeling that passion and thoughtfulness into the broader conversation about increased transit access is the key to connecting this region. Let’s shape Atlanta’s future together, one meal at a time.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/advanceatlanta-wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/08234413/img.png4441000pklibanoffhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/advanceatlanta-wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/08192940/logo.pngpklibanoff2016-08-10 11:44:482017-05-11 23:08:07Dinner parties were the original social network

Over 100 transit supporters joined MARTA Chairman Robbie Ashe, BeltLine creator Ryan Gravel, Advance Atlanta board members and several local transit organizations last Sunday to help push transit expansion in the City of Atlanta this November. Advance Atlanta, a citizen-driven grassroots advocacy coalition, hosted their first annual Transit Fest at Park Tavern drawing the large crowd to learn more about the opportunity city residents will have this November to vote on a referendum to expand transit. The planned referendum is the result of the efforts of State Senator Brandon Beach (R – Alpharetta), who sponsored pro-transit legislation in the General Assembly earlier this year.

The event was free and open to the public. Guests had the opportunity to donate funds that will be used to promote the November referendum through various mediums of communication and grassroots organizing events.

Speaking at the event, Atlanta BeltLine creator Ryan Gravel encouraged attendees to support the upcoming transit vote to enhance the city’s growing connectivity and walkability, stating, “The world is watching what we’re doing”. Gravel’s vision for the BeltLine includes eventual light rail parallel to the current walking trails and connecting to MARTA’s heavy rail system.

Joining Gravel in speaking to the group was MARTA Chairman Robbie Ashe. An Atlanta native, Ashe grew up using MARTA trains and buses and now chairs the nation’s eighth largest transit system. He explained the importance of passing the additional funding stream this fall that will provide an additional half-penny for much needed transit expansion. The funding stream will assist in leveraging additional federal and bond funding for capital projects. He also announced the utilization of stretch buses that will serve greater numbers of long distance commuters.

Atlanta City Council members Caesar Mitchell and Kwanza Hall also attended the event, providing their support to Advance Atlanta and this November’s transit referendum. Stressing increased equity in transit development, the council members explained the importance of a transit list that promotes doing the most good and creating opportunity for Atlanta’s diverse citizenry. As the transit vote draws closer, the city council will oversee the development of the project list that will be funded through the proposed additional revenue stream.

On Saturday, September 26th, Members of Advance Atlanta attended TransportationCamp South at Georgia Tech. TransportationCamp is an “unconference” where sessions are proposed and led by attendees. Advance Atlanta hosted the “Let’s Advance Atlanta” session, focused on sharing ideas and collecting feedback from fellow transit advocates.

The day started off with an inspiring presentation by MARTA CEO Keith Parker. Sessions at TransportationCamp covered a variety of topics, ranging from “A Brief History of Atlanta Freeways” and “Bike Infrastructure Abroad” to numerous sessions on transit including “Transit Equity,” “Let’s Make Buses Sexy,” and “MARTA Army.”

Danielle Elkins began the “Let’s Advance Atlanta” section with a 5 minute pitch on the coalition to Advance Atlanta. This was followed by a group discussion on Advance Atlanta’s role and tactics to work with other transit advocates across the region. We recognize there are a lot of excellent organizations doing incredible work in this field – many were in attendance at Transportation Camp. We look forward to collaborating and sharing information with all of you.

We want to thank those who attended our session and provided valuable feedback. We have made a lot of great connections. We are excited about working with new partners and mobilizing metro Atlantans in support of a unified regional transit system.

How can you get involved with Advance Atlanta? Help us increase awareness of our cause, please invite 10 of your friends to sign-up for our newsletter at AdvanceAtlanta.com/connect

Keith Parker, GM/CEO of Marta, kicked off Transportation Camp with a speech to participants. Danielle Elkins kicking of the “Let’s Advance Atlanta” session